I would agree that for a lot of people Denis Villeneuve’s direction is rather sleep-inducing. I remember going with friends to see Blade Runner 2049 and the friends went to sleep. It is usually the case with atmosphere-heavy and subtext heavy movies. Another example of a similar director would be Nicolas Winding Refn. Who deliberately sometimes refuses to engage the audience. Instead you are stuck with a few minutes long closeup of the character thinking about something.

I think those kinds of films are not for all people. But those that love this aesthetic love it a lot.